CBC/Radio-Canada, VIA Rail Canada and Community Foundations of Canada present "CANADA 150/2017 STARTS NOW," a conference series, in collaboration with leading canadian organizations

OTTAWA, Jan. 28, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, CBC/Radio-Canada, VIA Rail Canada
and Community Foundations of Canada, in collaboration with a number of
leading organizations across the country, announced cities and dates
for its CANADA 150/2017 STARTS NOW initiative, a conference series that will spark a national conversation
about Canada's upcoming 150th anniversary.

The CANADA 150/2017 STARTS NOW conferences will inform, inspire and incubate local and regional
projects to mark this important milestone, and will leverage new ways
to connect Canadians to national initiatives. The events will be
accessible to participants in both official languages and will bring
together citizens and leaders from communities across every region of
the country, representing many facets of our diverse society.

The CANADA 150/2017 STARTS NOW conference series will roll out across the country from April through
June 2013, with a conference in each province, an event in Yellowknife
that will connect other communities in Northern Canada through
technology, and a summary event in Ottawa, where the organizers will
present highlights of the entire series.

CANADA 150/2017 STARTS NOW cities and dates*:

Vancouver

Friday, April 5

Calgary

Friday, April 12

Toronto

Friday, April 26

Saskatoon

Wednesday, May 1

Winnipeg

Friday, May 3

Montreal

Wednesday, May 8

Charlottetown

Tuesday, May 21

Moncton

Thursday, May 23

St. John's

Monday, June 3

Halifax

Tuesday, June 4

Yellowknife & the North

Thursday, June 20

Ottawa - Summary Event

Thursday, June 27

(*Dates subject to change.)

An interactive digital platform is in development that will allow
Canadians, irrespective of where they live, to join the CANADA 150/2017 STARTS NOW conversation. It will be launched soon, along with venue and
programming details. Information is currently available at cbc.radio-canada.ca/canada150-en.

"Canadians have lots stories to tell and no shortage of ideas to share
as we head towards Canada's 150th. We want to start hearing about them
now," said Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada.
"We're proud that we can work together with a huge number of community
partners and organizations to play a key role in instigating projects,
much like we did in 1967 for the Centennial."

"We are proud to partner with CBC/Radio-Canada and Community Foundations
of Canada on this important initiative, along with our national
collaborators," says Marc Laliberté, President and Chief Executive
Officer, VIA Rail Canada. "One thing that we all have in common is our
ability to connect Canadians in one way or another, and our country's
150th birthday presents us with a promising opportunity."

"Together we can harness this moment in time to make a significant
contribution to our communities and our country," says Ian Bird,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Community Foundations of Canada.
"We're mobilizing the entire community foundation network so our
country can build a legacy for Canada's 150th that is as meaningful and
as powerful as Canada's Centennial was 50 years ago."

CBC/Radio-Canada, VIA Rail and Community Foundations of Canada are
presenting the series in collaboration with the following Canadian
organizations: Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada Museums of Science
and Technology, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Governor
General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation / Arts Nation,
Historica-Dominion Institute, imagiNation150 Calgary, Institute for
Canadian Citizenship, Institute for the Public Administration of
Canada, Luminato, Manifesto Community Projects, National Arts Centre,
National Association of Friendship Centres, National Capital
Commission, Prince Edward Island 2014, The Walrus Foundation, Trans
Canada Trail, United Way of Canada and YMCA Canada.

About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada (cbc.radio-canada.ca) is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest
cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching
Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio,
television, Internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in
the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer
diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight
Aboriginal languages.

About VIA Rail Canada
As Canada's national passenger rail service, VIA Rail Canada's (www.viarail.ca) mandate is to provide safe, efficient, cost-effective passenger
transportation in the country's two official languages. VIA operates
intercity, regional and transcontinental trains linking 450 communities
across its 12,500-kilometer route network. Recipient of the RAC's
Safety Award in 2012 for the 11th time in 12 years, and of the 2012
Agent's Choice Award voted on by Canadian travel agents and presented
by Baxter Travel Media, VIA safely transports over four million
passengers annually. Since 2007, the Government of Canada has provided
VIA Rail with nearly one billion dollars in capital investment funding.
Follow the evolution of current projects at viarail.ca/transformingVIA.

About Community Foundations of Canada
Community Foundations of Canada (www.cfc-fcc.ca) is the national network for the country's more than 180 community
foundations. We help Canadians invest in building strong and resilient
places to live, work, and play; together we are one of the largest
supporters of community, providing almost $200 million to local
organizations in 2012 alone. Our movement is committed to working with
Canadians to build Smart & Caring Communities across Canada leading up
to 2017, taking up the Governor General's call to action to all
Canadians to build 'a smarter and more caring nation.'